Matt Barnes: My Days On This Team Are Numbered

Arash Markazi of ESPN wrote an article about what happen on the Clipper's plane yesterday
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The timing could have been better.
As the NBA trade deadline was coming to a close Thursday afternoon, Los Angeles Clippers players were gathered on the team's chartered plane, waiting to depart for Memphis for their game against the Grizzlies on Friday.
There were some tense moments for Matt Barnes on the Clippers' plane, but the NBA trade deadline came and went without him being moved.With each minute that extended past their scheduled departure time, the tensions began to grow as players who were rumored....

I was thinking that. Maybe Barnes can get his head out of his butt and get his mojo going else we will want to trade him.

CP3Heliflopter

02/21/2014 - 11:07 AM PST

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Too bad our SFs will likely continue their low level of play....

Icecoldclipper

02/21/2014 - 11:07 AM PST

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That clearing cap stuff was weak because Jamison was an expiring and it was Doc's weird ass who gave Mullens a second year with a freakin player option. Its whatever now soon as guys clear wavier bring them on and stop wasting time and making excuses.

ClippersDA

02/21/2014 - 11:35 AM PST

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Barnes is so annoying this season. Not just his play, but his whole demeanor and personality.

fray_27

02/21/2014 - 12:35 PM PST

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I find it funny how half of you guys on here talk so much trash on our coach and players. You guys sound like divas always wanting things your way you guys sound like laker fans and it's annoying. Doc is the coach for a reason and of they have him the GM job it's for a reason he's basketball knowledge is very high and of he's the GM he gets to build a team he feels would win a chip. Which by the way he has. Like someone just said Matt Barns has been annoying. Let me ask you this who was our second best player in the playoffs last year matt Barnes because Blake was kinda injured who stood up for Blake this year matt Barnes and if something big happened again you can bet matt would stick up for his whole team again. So stop acting and sounding like divas be a true fan and support your team the players and the GM even if he makes a couple mistakes it's his first year.

ClippersDA

02/21/2014 - 12:46 PM PST

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Barnes was good in the elimination game - it's not blasphemy to say he has been terrible this season. For the record, I never thought they should bring him back (last year was a contract year and an anomaly). So when he plays bad and has a crappy attitude, I feel justified in pointing it out. His whole behavior about potentially getting traded felt unprofessional.

Akclipps

02/21/2014 - 12:53 PM PST

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Lol divas.. I'm actually happy with our team compare last years team.. i know we're gonna make it to the finals this year and win that ring and I'm more confident and comfortable on saying that for our team this year

tense2

02/21/2014 - 12:56 PM PST

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Or maybe not. Best to judge after the season. Glass half full..

fray_27

02/21/2014 - 01:01 PM PST

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Clippers DA well look at it this way he wouldn't want to be traded he loves this team and his teammates he loves the city. of course he wouldn't want to be traded and yea he's played like **** but everyone has their ups and downs he's giving us more than duds has.

ClippersDA

02/21/2014 - 01:11 PM PST

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I get why he didn't want to leave - but look at how Danny granger handled it. You think he was thrilled? No. But he was classy. Barnes was making the trade deadline all about him. Saying he will play like it is his last game and just sucking.

LeftHook

02/21/2014 - 01:57 PM PST

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Hi! Matt Barnes has been playing like a bum lately. When he has the ball and is about to shoot a layup, it either misses badly or gets blocked... if he throws a pass? Turnover! Shoots a 3? Brick!

I like Barnes and was happy when he signed, but this guy can't do anything right, at least not at the moment. I hope he becomes bench again and also plays a lot better. We're gonna need him.

DocHollywood

02/21/2014 - 04:11 PM PST

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Dudley should still be starting over Barnes. He's the better player and has been for years.

Agent0

02/21/2014 - 04:25 PM PST

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They have been similar level / impact players for most of their careers. Dudley is the better shooter and has obviously been the more consistent player, especially on offense for their careers. The reason I would say Dudley should start is that Dudley has had a huge dropoff from starter to bench, while Barnes has stayed almost the same. So to get maximal production from both, it seems like Dudley starting works better.

Barnes starter:

28.3 mins, 7.6 pts, 3.6 rebs, 2.1 asts, 99 Ortg, 37.0% 3PT, .508 TS%

Dudley starter:

28.6 mins, 8.7 pts, 2.2 rebs, 1.6 asts, 104 Ortg, 37.9% 3PT, .558 TS%

Barnes bench:

21.7 mins, 7.1 pts, 4.3 rebs, 1.4 asts, 94 Ortg, 26.6% 3PT, .471 TS%

Dudley bench:

18.2 mins, 4.4 pts, 2.2 rebs, 1.1 asts, 99 Ortg, 23.5% 3PT, .471 TS%

Dudley was actually scoring more than Barnes is as a starter and more efficiently. Rebounds at SF seem to decrease as a starter and increase on the bench because Dudley's bench 2.2 rebs in 18.2 minutes is 4.4 rebs/36 which would be good for him if he was doing that as a starter. Barnes on the other hand dropped from 7.1 rebs/36 off the bench to 4.6 rebs/36 as a starter, though the sample size isn't conclusive of anything, just an observation, it is an interesting thing to notice.

I don't know, the patterns in production at SF on this team is really weird. At least as a starter though, Dudley was killing it in home games on offense. Now he just sucks everywhere.

LeftHook

02/21/2014 - 04:30 PM PST

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The problem with Dudley being in the 2nd unit is that, it's just a different team out there. 2nd unit looks like Vinny Del Negro returned... Barnes did ok in that mess last year, but Dudley seems to benefit more with ball movement from CP3, Blake, DJ, and JJ.

FightOnRon

02/21/2014 - 04:33 PM PST

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Maybe when he sobers up from that Cabo trip he'll get it,he is in fact expendable.

MunoValente

02/21/2014 - 04:37 PM PST

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A while back Doc mentioned that he was hoping playing Dudley less would get his knee all the way better by the post season, so at least part of Barnes starting and playing more might be limiting Dudley's minutes for that.

They've both been pretty bad this year, but I do think Dudley has been a little less bad; most of our big wins this year came at the start of year when Dudley was playing more and Barnes was barely playing. Both are slumping, but Dudley is a little better at minimizing the team level damage done by his poor play than Barnes (lower turnover rate, misses less shots, defers more to better players, less mistake prone of defense even if he's outmatched physically more).

While Redick is out hopefully Bullock gets run as our main backup SG and makes a good impression, if he does that then he should be right in the mix for SF minutes too.

cleepers

02/21/2014 - 04:40 PM PST

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Agreed with this before I even saw the numbers. Barnes works well in transition, when he's running the floor and cutting to the basket for layups. We saw it with Bledsoe running the offense and we've seen it with Collison. Our starters' offense is designed to get open 3's for our wings and he has been dismal from there. Dudley may have slipped from his career numbers, but he's much, much better as a 3pt threat than Barnes.

I think the reason both of them rebound better coming off the bench is pretty simple... more minutes without DJ, Blake or both grabbing all the boards. If Hollins, Mullens, Jamison and Turk were my "competition", I'd sure as hell grab a lot more boards... even from the PG spot.

CapsNClips

02/21/2014 - 04:49 PM PST

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Paul, if you love someone let 'em go....to L.A.

CapsNClips

02/21/2014 - 04:58 PM PST

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Should be an easy sell if money will play no part in it.

cleepers

02/21/2014 - 05:11 PM PST

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Pretty hard for Pierce and KG to say anything negative about him coming here when they had their own bags packed before Stern stepped in.

ClippersDA

02/21/2014 - 05:28 PM PST

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He will get ample playing time here if he has even a modicum of consistency. More than Brooklyn.

ClipperB23

02/21/2014 - 05:29 PM PST

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Our SF position needs way more consistency, hopefully Barnes and Dudley start playing better and more motivated after almost being traded.

CapsNClips

02/21/2014 - 05:40 PM PST

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Whoops! I didn't mean to put the Big Baby tweets in this thread. Whateva whateva I do what I want.

Clippersfan86

02/24/2014 - 04:29 PM PST

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Barnes, who signed a 3-year, $12 million deal in the offseason, says he's playing more freely now than he did before, not because he no longer has to worry about being traded but because he thinks this could be his last season in Los Angeles and doesn't want to hold anything back if it is.

"Since the trade deadline I think I know my days are numbered here," Barnes said. "So, I'm going to out there and have fun and play as a hard as I can and help the team in any way. I think I was thinking too much and trying to read into trades and this and that."

Motivated him like it should but this quote alone makes me worry if he becomes a chemistry problem.

Doubt he is moved unless Carmelo takes a paycut and we need to clear cap during the offseason.

clipper*joe

02/24/2014 - 04:51 PM PST

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Clippersfan86 wrote:

Barnes, who signed a 3-year, $12 million deal in the offseason, says he's playing more freely now than he did before, not because he no longer has to worry about being traded but because he thinks this could be his last season in Los Angeles and doesn't want to hold anything back if it is.
"Since the trade deadline I think I know my days are numbered here," Barnes said. "So, I'm going to out there and have fun and play as a hard as I can and help the team in any way. I think I was thinking too much....

He would be moved if we were getting an upgrade and moving him would facilitate that, doesn't really need to be Carmelo. As of now he'll be here and get minutes.

Players like him can't really think there's zero chance of them being moved, especially when their production is down.

Clippersfan86

02/24/2014 - 05:11 PM PST

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Know what I'm sick of? New posters that haven't proven jack around here coming onto the site and labeling everybody, criticizing people they don't know, and calling out others fanhood. If you don't agree fine, but you need to review the forum rules before posting further or you're going to run into problems around here. NOTHING on this forum should be a personal critique or attack of other posters. That post is actually grounds to give an official warning but the ONLY reason I'm not is because it's 3 days old and I missed it. Let it be a verbal warning for future posts.

Clippersfan86

02/24/2014 - 05:12 PM PST

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I lean that way too. It's clearly had the impact we all hoped for. I just hope it doesn't boil over in the future if he doesn't think the team has his back is all.

berzain23

02/24/2014 - 05:34 PM PST

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MB has had a couple good games in a row. He needs to keep it up. But we definitely need wing help!!

JQuick32

02/24/2014 - 05:36 PM PST

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Fixed that for you.

And I see nothing wrong with the quote. In fact, it sounds like he's had a wake-up call considering how terribly he had been playing.

ClipperDodger1214

02/24/2014 - 05:42 PM PST

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Is anyone really surprised by what this guy says or does? There's a reason why he's bounced around from team to team in his career. He's a good role player, but eventually becomes a knucklehead to the point that the team just can't take it anymore. You would think he would have gotten the message by now but I guess not.

tense2

02/24/2014 - 05:44 PM PST

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He along with Collinson, Dudley, Green and Hollins who's all days are numbered. I think maybe only 1 of those returns next season not named Green or Hollins.

toohipcliptoslip

02/25/2014 - 02:22 AM PST

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Maybe Matt knows he's playing like diaper dump. If he plays well he probably won't get traded. When he plays well, he and Collison are keepers. Wasn't last year a career year for him? Maybe he's paranoid from being bounced around. Maybe he should shut up

Kingkanyon

02/25/2014 - 03:16 AM PST

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Well in all fairness he doesn't have the typical NBA background. Ever since his Rookie season he's had to work his A@@ off to stay in the NBA, and there were many times were I watched him play for other teams and I thought he should have been starting and getting more minutes, but wasn't for some reason or another. I think he just cares allot about this team specifically and is still a bit bitter from past experiences, and after taking less money to come back here for what he thought would be Security with this team then seeing his name in trade discussion, I can understand were he's coming from. But with that said I can also see the Teams perspective, were trying to do something unheard of around here and sometimes it means getting rid of Loyal but under performing players. But if he keeps playing the way he's playing of late, I doubt this will be an issue, for him or the team.

JamFan

02/25/2014 - 11:55 AM PST

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I like Matt Barnes.

Not to long ago players didn't want to come to the Clippers, it was like being banished to Siberia. Now, Matt showed that he was dying just at the thought of possibly having to leave. He works hard but isn't a premier player. But coach, who knows more than all of us put together, is starting him. We don't have the cap space to bring in a Carmelo level player at the 3. If Granger comes, it will be a rental for a couple of months because we likely wouldn't have the money to pay him next year. Matt is the reality we have at the moment. He was supposed to be coming off the bench but Dudley didn't perform. Embrace him, he bleeds Clippers colors. I know if I am in a bind, I would like to have Matt Barnes saying "Don't worry I got your back."

ClipperFaithful

02/25/2014 - 11:59 AM PST

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he plays with heart, and you can't learn that

ClipperDB

02/25/2014 - 12:52 PM PST

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He had 2 sprained ankles last night and still played - enough said....

elton_sucks42

02/26/2014 - 12:17 AM PST

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This is one of the reasons why I don't post as often and just lurk and read these days. At least when we were losing and heading to the lottery every year, you knew the people that we're posting here were likely real fans lol

wessleejr

02/26/2014 - 12:25 AM PST

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Maybe those are Lakers fans who doesn't want to post in the lakers topbuzz because they don't want to know what's the latest of the Lakers

CP3Heliflopter

02/26/2014 - 12:46 AM PST

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Overly dramatic imo.

gman

02/26/2014 - 01:07 AM PST

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I actually feel the Barnes situation.

At my work place, they got lots of spots ( I guess teams) and our manager (came in 8 months ago) has been talking about this other fella who does what I do at another location. Been hearing for a good portion of a year that she wants him at our place. Long be hold, last month I was told I was being shipped out and will bring him in in a 1 week trade. (This so they can see how he holds)

They kept me waiting for a month. It has been in the back of my head. There is not much I can do but do my job.

Still, it bothers the sh!t out of me. Now it is official. Next week he will be in my place and I will be in his.

And yet, I do not earn the millions that Matt does.

Akclipps

02/26/2014 - 01:15 AM PST

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Don't be a lamar! Matt u are better than that.

ClippersDA

02/26/2014 - 01:22 AM PST

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Trades are a part of life and matt hadn't been playing to his contract until two games ago.

I hope it lasts but who knows.

WinningBasket

02/26/2014 - 08:25 AM PST

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I think Matt really thought he would finally stay in one place longer than a year (and not be part of any trade talks) after he signed his first real long-term contract last summer. It meant a lot to him, I'm sure, and it meant stability for him and his family.

However, due to injuries this season and playing subpar games until the last two games, he was probably feeling a lot of pressure to perform and was hoping the Clippers would give him more time to get his health and act together before tossing his name in the trade banter. It just goes to show that basketball is first and foremost a business and players have to always keep in mind that they may be traded at a drop of a hat regardless of the length of their contract.

On a positive note, I'm relieved Matt is still on the team this season. I really hope he continues his stellar play and make great contributions well into the playoffs.

David42

02/26/2014 - 09:58 AM PST

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Matt keep up the good work and your days are not numbered.

The only bad luck you had was that mister Dudley is so great that we had to give you a starting spot and you couldn't handle it, i don't blame you because you're a benchplayer who gives us a spark from coming off the bench like last season.

So we were in panic mode and the value of Dudley was zero.

So i'm glad you re still on the team and prove most people wrong with the performance from your last two games. Keep it up.

Clippersfan86

02/26/2014 - 12:29 PM PST

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Matt repeated it again postgame in the Pelicans game. He said "I'm just playing loose because these could be my last 3 months in a Clippers uniform. I'm going to give my all until this summer". I don't know why he's being emotionally affected by trade rumors after 11 years in the league and like 9 teams. It's good that it lit a fire under his ass but he needs to know that as long as he brings it every game and plays hard, he has a home here. It's never too late to turn it around. Hell if Jared Dudley suddenly starts playing well and sustains it till the end of the season, I'm sure we'd all come around.

namzug

02/26/2014 - 12:48 PM PST

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I have a bit of sympathy for him. Matt may have thought that he found a home here, I sure did once we signed him. The truth is, if our team as an organization sees a chance to better the team the only untradeable players are probably Blake and CP3 (maybe DJ next year if he makes another tremendous leap forward). I think Matt realized that even though us fans love him, and the team loves him, and very likely the staff he is not irreplaceable. It's like Reggie, he was a fan favorite and a....